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Figures and Maps: Focus A
The Science of Climate Change
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FA F.1 Global emissions of greenhouse gases have been increasing
Source: Reproduced from Barker and others 2007.
Note: This figure shows the sources and growth rates of some of the
medium-to long-term greenhouse gases. Fossil fuels and land-use
change have been the major sources of CO2, while energy and
agriculture contribute about equally to emissions of CH4. N2O comes
mainly from agriculture. Additional greenhouse gases not included
in the figure are black carbon (soot), tropospheric ozone, and
halocarbons. The comparisons of the equivalent emissions of
different gases are based on the use of the 100-year Global
Warming Potential; see note 9 for explanation.
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FA F.2 Major factors affecting the climate since the Industrial Revolution
Source: Adapted from Karl, Melillo, and Peterson 2009.
Note: The figure above shows the amount of warming influence (orange bars) or cooling influence (blue bars) that different factors have had on Earth’s
climate since the beginning of the industrial age (from about 1750 to the present). Results are in watts per square meter. The top part of the box
includes all the major human-induced factors, while the second part of the box includes the Sun, the only major natural factor with a long-term effect
on climate. The cooling effect of individual volcanoes is also natural but is relatively short-lived (2 to 3 years), thus their influence is not included in this
figure. The bottom part of the box shows that the total net effect (warming influences minus cooling influences) of human activities is a strong
warming influence. The thin lines on each bar provide an estimate of the range of uncertainty.
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FA F.3 Global annual average temperature and CO2 concentration continue to climb, 1880–2007
Source: Adapted from Karl, Melillo, and Peterson 2009.
Note: Orange bars indicate temperature above the 1901–2000 average, blue bars are below average temperatures. The green line shows the rising CO2
concentration. While there is a clear long-term global warming trend, each individual year does not show a temperature increase relative to the
previous year, and some years show greater changes than others. These year-to-year fluctuations in temperature are attributable to natural processes,
such as the effects of El Niños, La Niñas, and volcanic eruptions.
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FA F.4 Greenland’s melting ice sheet
Sources: Top panel: Adapted from ACIA 2005 and
Cooperative Institute for Environmental Sciences (CIRES),
http://cires.colorado.edu/steffen/greenland/melt2005/
(accessed July, 2009). Bottom panel: Reproduced from
Mote 2007.
Note: The orange areas on the maps of Greenland show the
extent of summer ice melt, which has increased
dramatically in recent years. Ten percent more ice was lost
in 2007 than in 2005. The bar chart shows that despite
annual variation in ice cover, significant loss has occurred
for more than a decade.
World Development Report 2010
FA F.5 Embers burning hotter: Assessment of risks and damages has increased from 2001 to 2007
Source: Reproduced from Smith and others 2009.
Notes: The figure shows risks from climate change, as described in 2001 (left) compared with updated data (right). Climate-change consequences are
shown as bars and the increases in global mean temperature (°C) above today’s levels (0 degrees to 5 degrees). Each column corresponds to a specific
kind of impact. For example, “unique and threatened systems,” such as alpine meadows or arctic ecosystems, are the most vulnerable (illustrated by
the shading in column A) and only a small change in temperature may lead to great loss. The color scheme represents progressively increasing levels of
risk from yellow to red. Between 1900 and 2000 global average temperature increased by ~0.6°C (and by nearly 0.2°C in the decade since) and has
already led to some impacts. Since 2001 the assessed risk of damages has increased even for temperatures of an additional 1°C above today’s levels, or
about 2°C total above preindustrial levels.
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FA F.6 Projected impacts of
climate change by region
Source: Adapted from Parry and others 2007.
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FA F.7 Ways to limit warming to 2°C above preindustrial levels
Source: Allen and others 2009a.
Note: Three idealized CO2 emission paths (FA.7a) each consistent with total cumulative emissions (b) of 1 trillion tonnes of carbon. Each of the paths
yields the same range of projected temperature increase (c) relative to uncertainty in the climate system’s response (grey shading and red error bar),
provided the cumulative total is unaffected. The blue, green, and red curves in FA.7a are all consistent with the 1 trillion tonne budget, but the higher
and later the emissions peak, the faster the emissions have to decline to stay within the same cumulative emissions budget. Diamonds in FA.7c indicate
observed temperatures relative to 1900–1920. While 2°C is the most likely outcome, temperature increases as high as 4°degrees above preindustrial
levels cannot be ruled out.
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FA BoxF.1 The carbon cycle
Source: Adapted from IPCC 2007b.
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FA M.1 Regional variation in global climate trends over the last 30 years
Source: Goddard Institute for Space Studies, http://data.giss.nasa.gov/cgibin/gistemp/do_nmap.py?year_last=2009&month_last=07&sat=4&sst=1&type=anoms&mean_gen=07&year1=1990&year2=2008&base1=1951&base
2=1980&radius=1200&pol=reg (accessed July 2009).
Note: Yellow, orange, and red colors denote average increases in temperatures (°C) from 1980 to the present compared with the previous three
decades. Warming has been greatest at high latitudes, especially in the Northern Hemisphere.
World Development Report 2010
FA M.1 Regional variation in global climate trends over the last 30 years
Source: Goddard Institute for Space Studies, http://data.giss.nasa.gov/cgibin/precipcru/do_PRCmap.py?type=1&mean_gen=0112&year1=1980&year2=2000&base1=1951&base2=1980 (accessed May 2009).
Note: Orange denotes decreased precipitation in millimeters a day; blue denotes increases from 1980 to present compared with the previous three
decades. Drying has been greatestin continental interiors, while rainfall has become more intense in many coastal areas. The changing geographic
distribution of rainfall has serious implications for agriculture.
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FA M.2 Potential tipping elements in the climate system: Global distribution
Source: Adapted from Lenton and others 2008.
Note: Several regional-scale features of the climate system have tipping points, meaning that a small climate perturbation at a critical point could
trigger an abrupt or irreversible shift in the system. These could be triggered this century depending on the pace and magnitude of climate change.
World Development Report 2010